Saturday, January 14, 2012

Ok Here it is the new instrumental album available on my favorite music hosting site...Bandcamp. Any feedback on this appreciated, I'm pretty happy with how the beats came out so let me know what you think. It's not a full concept album or anything but I did try to pick beat which fit in a certain style. Hope you are feeling this and thanks for all your guys support.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Well I'm sitting here listening to the ruff edit version of my new instrumental album and damn, it's sounding good. I went for more of a sampled feel on this than synth'd out stuff. I know I love my sci-fi boom bap type shit but I do do more than that so. This is a collection of beats I've made over the past 2 years or so, most of them mainly in the last couple months but I dug back to find a few that fit with the feel. I'm really into feel if you've read many music posts in the past. I love hearing some technical shit but overall it really comes down to the overall feel of a song most often for me. A song is meant to convey a feeling, story, emotions or an idea so getting the feel of that helps the song/album, if it's technically skilled while doing this then all the better. That's the real key to making some great shit in my eyes, to have an amazing feel on the track while flexing some major technical skill. Anyhow, here's the cover I went with and a track from the album. Hope you enjoy.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Wow I need a new post about something dope, something real good. Maybe a couple of my favorite joints I ever did. Yeah that's what I'll do.
This first one here is an all time fav of mine. Sounds like pure classic hiphop right from the start. The sample on this is crazy, I can remember chopping it and getting that bass out and the guitar line. The drum work is very minimalist which I've always been big in minimalism so I get into that side of it, but. I did have a few offers on this beat but managed to get it into the hands of still one of my all time favorite emcees's Avarice, who absolutely murdered this track. He made this joint what it is really. I've been into that one verse style train of thought for some years now, it's hard to get it right on a song which is one of the reasons you don't hear that many great tracks like this. Lyrically this track is meaningful as well as put together in a complex structure, as I said Avarice kills it.

The second is one I consider some of my best work. I can't totally remember making this beat exactly but I cam remember thinking that this beat was amazing and I needed it to get to an artist who could do it justice. I though of this beat as I thought of the last song as a one verse style thing I didn't really make a hook section at all, but. A while went by and this project for Atari Blitzkrieg came up as a tribute to Satoshi Kon the anime director right after he passed away, for any who don't know his work I highly suggest you go pick up some of his work, Paprika would be a great start. Anyway.. I submitted the beat and Atari picked it up and laid something out to it, then sent me a request to put a hook in it. Which I did and sent it back to him, he did the vocals yada yada yada, the song was done.
The other reasons I love this is I just think the whole percussion is really on point, I love the high hat pattern. The way the drums and FX samples blend with the swirling synth pad, vocal sounds and bass evolving underneath the jazzed out keys. I love this beat in every way and think it hold it's own as a great work. Next! Bring in Atari's verse. His vocal work on this is top notch work, incredibly well crafted lines which blend and swirl within the beat but evoke the most amazing imagery. His writing on this really reminds me of a Satoshi Kon work, bending through reality in a dream like way. Ultimately this is why I love this song because it was a tribute to Satoshi Kon and his work and to me it full represents his work to, a swirling magical dream-like continually bending reality.
Guess this turned into a long explanation but the track is a truly great song, check it out.
&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://atariblitzkrieg.bandcamp.com/track/paranoia-agent"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Paranoia Agent by Atari Blitzkrieg&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Monday, January 9, 2012

Hoop la hoop la! Wow some rapper beef today I actually decided to peep. I never really listened to much Common or Drake but from what I have heard Common def seems like the more skilled and poetic emcee. Drake's got some flow I'd admit that, and I don't think I've ever heard real tough technical skill from Common in terms of flowing like Nga Fish or Myka 9, but that's my opinion. Common clearly has a more poetic side for sure but even he has done some cheese shit in my eyes like this.

I mean so whats he dissin Drake over? This track was the one which made me rethink listening to almost any other Kid Cudi track.
So here's a clip from youtube just showing Commons diss to Drake.

Whatever I think of Drake is pretty much irrelevant in this cuz it's their beef, but I think this verse is a weak diss. Even the Canada Dry line, and I like joking about Canada, I live here it's a funny place. I might be bias as well cuz I don't like the beat...Why rap over a 'Rick Ross' beat dissin a dude for being wack...In my eye's if you rap over a Rick Ross beat and don't diss him what's the point? Rick Ross is pretty much a real life MC Gusto, which was funny but...
I'm goin to remember Common tracks like this and forget about all this stupid shit.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

I hear this phrase come up from time to time and it sort of doesn't make sense to me anymore. "People be sleeping on this" well yeah lots of people are sleeping on stuff right now. Maybe they are just into other things which your sleeping on? The amount of music/art/games/media sites slash whatever coming out through the internet and real world is insurmountable. There is no possible way someone isn't sleeping on something dope in today's world.
This is a whole topic which hasn't concerned my for years. I don't watch TV at all and haven't for over 15 years. Not saying that I dislike all TV programs because there are things I've watched on DVD, but my point is I don't see commercials for new shows, movies, actors or products. I don't know what movies are in theatres and which ones won an award. I don't know what new shows are coming out this season, in fact I don't really know when a season starts or ends.
I don't bother spending any of my time listening to mainstream music in almost any form. I used to have to listen to the radio at work and heard lots of new music as it came out but found that I didn't really like most mainstream music. I enjoyed lots of things which most friends knew nothing about. They might not have been current albums but if the album came out in 1954 and I'm just hearing it today then it's brand new to me. If I spent my time listening to current artists which people say I'm 'Sleepin' on then wouldn't I have been 'Sleeping' on this older album?
If a new album comes out by a huge mainstream artist like Eminem or Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy or whatever I don't even spend a second trying to check it out and give it a listen. Why? Why I know that's not my type of music. I got bored of the money and drugs raps in 1994, I had NWA, Spice 1, MC Eiht and bunch of stuff like that. I listened the shit out of The Cronic by Dre and I think it's dope music, but after a bit I want to hear something else. Dudes been on that same shit since 94, DAMN 94 that's 18 years man.
I know for a fact that there's a ton of stuff I'm sleepin on right now which is good. The stuff which is real good though will still be just as good in 10 years as it is today. I realize that dudes want you to hear their music as well as all their friends music so they can support but let's be real, people are going to be sleeping on you. Who Cares! There's nothing you can do about that. Focus on making something which will be unique and a solid body of work. Make it worth somebody's time to listen, be critical of yourself before worrying about what others thing. Then what you make will satisfy yourself first off and it doesn't matter how many people hear it or don't because you'll be happy with your work and also you'll have something good to hear anytime someone picks it up and stops sleeping on your music.

I'm still trying to come up with a name for this Beat Tape thing. I've been at some art to help get an idea going but it hasn't seemed to help much. Here's one I did, leave some feedback in the comments and help me out.